Slow though. I can't imagine why I'd use TIG on car bodywork, when I could use oxy-acetylene instead. Both have just the same problem of being a slow, high-skill process to handle the torch and filler.
I'm not sure if I can recommend them for a newbie.
Tig is used on some metals but rarely steel. They use pure argon and I don't think the tungsten tips are cheap. If the shielding gas gets blown away from the work like in an outside environment, the tip burns away. They require more skill.
While you need gas, you might just as well use oxy-acetylene, though I suspect it's not allowed in a domestic environment.
I could only get gasless wire at 0.8mm, whereas with gas I only ever used
0.6mm. I felt the feed rate ended up being nearly the same. There is a lot more spatter than using gas.I have bought gasless wire of eBay and found it ok. I think machine mart do smaller reels which perhaps you can try out.
If I was using reels of wire I would go for gas in hired bottles, but as I use a reel every year or 2, gasless is the cheaper option.
Maybe it's changed now, but it wasn't too bad when I did it last, around
5 years ago; I don't remember jumping through hoops or anything - the only pain in the butt was the fact that it was a rental, so irritating having monthly charges for something that I didn't use very often. I got mine from the BOC place round the back of Mackays engineering works in Cambridge, and took the cylinder home in the back of the car (I don't remember if I had to "sign up" as a new BOC customer first then go back to collect a couple of weeks later or not).cheers
Jules
One last question seems to be different opinions on what gas to use, can i ask what you people use and where you get it from. the small canisters sold seem to be either Co2 or Argon neither seem to be recommended for steel.
One major snag for me would be storing a large bottle.
You can use CO2 or Argon with steel, you must have pure Argon for Aluminium and some other specialist welding. Using a home type mig welder with aluminium wire can be a nightmare as the wire is too bendy to be pushed up the feed pipe. Commercial machines for aluminium welding tend to have the feed mechanism at the handle end.
The proper gas for steel is an Argon/CO2 mix commonly called Argoshield which is I think a BOC trademark. CO2 alone is very fussy about machine settings and not specially easy to use, it tends to spatter, but is cheap if you acquire a pub gas cylinder and get it refilled. Small disposable cylinders cost a fortune. Your best bet is to get a pub gas cylinder and ask around locally as there are people who will fill them with Argoshield. It is of slightly dodgy legality so they tend not to shout about the "service".
where should one "ask around" for the Argoshield in a pub cylinder ahem ...service??
cheers Jim K
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I don't think there are any restrictions on home use of oxy-acetylene. BOC Portapak (with outright sale of bottles) has been available since early 1970s. I bought mine about 1974 and learned to weld with it. I also upgraded to larger bottles without any restrictions except that they were rented rather than bought.
It's actually more versatile than other welding methods for many purposes since it can be used to form and shape metals as you go after initial tacking.
Cic.
Dave Plowman (News) wibbled on Friday 23 July 2010 15:42
I had a small but proper bottle - about 2 foot long, not sure of it's offical designation as it was many years ago.
But the cost of bottle including deposit wasn't that high, the refill cost was pretty good and for casual DIY the bottle lasted a very long time but was small enough to pop anywhere you liked, like under the stairs, workshop bench etc.
If I got another MIG, I'd go down the same route.
Despite what others have said, I got on fine with pure CO2 for welding everything mild steel from car panels to about 5mm (OK, vee'd out with grinder, several passes and not a critical application).
My setup was a small Cebora which had surprisingly excellent wire feed for the price bracket, took small and medium reels of wire and had enough current and duty cycle to be perfectly usable for the sort of use a DIY machine got.
I learnt on that machine, though I had a mate who taught me, and after fiddling with scrap I was getting quite passable results consistently.
Said mate had an auto-blackout mask - it was nice, but at the time (mid
90's) too expensive for me to buy one. I managed OK with a regular mask with flip up filter - it didn't seem to onerous to set up the job, get the torch in the right place, and with one had drop the filter and commence welding.Cheers
Tim
The small disposable bottles only last about 5 minutes so forget them. Ideally you need Argoshield which is a BOC Argon/Co2 mix you rent the bottle about £45pa for the smaller size and £34 for a refill or buy the bottle and gas outright from
Alternatively you can use pub Co2 its quite possible to produce reasonable welds with this, despite what some may say, but it _is_ harder to use. cost is usually £15 returnable deposit on the bottle and £9.50 for a refill. If you are anywhere near E-Sussex Sellergas (no that's not one of my usual typo) do it for that price.
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Argon, followed by argon/CO2 mix. Some say CO2 only is ok for steel.
Strangely I did some ally welding with my Migmate and got on ok. No worse than with thin steel, ie needed fettling to look good. But it was about
5mm thick. Just turned everything up full. ;-) The tip needs to be a couple of sizes bigger than the wire to allow for expansion.
No that's incorrect advice
yes
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Who'd like to bet that this:
was welded with CO2?
CO2 can't be used for MIG, but it does have limited use for pulsed- transfer or dip-transfer MAGS on thin steel.
It can't be used for spray transfer, so forget it for thick stuff (including kitcar spaceframes or suspension components)
You can't afford a machine that does pulsed transfer
You can only do dip transfer with CO2 if yoru technique is good. if it isn't, it'll tip you over into globular transfer mode instead, aka pigeon crap welding.
Just avoid CO2! Switching to a decent shield gas is (along with an automatic hat) one of the biggest improvements that any amateur welder can make to their results.
IMHO, thick aluminium is OK fed up the whole torch cable, but you should keep a separate liner for doing this.
Thin aluminium is easier if you switch to TIG
Spool-on-gun feed is fine, but they're expensive and IMHO only for bulk fabrication in thin stuff.
Andy Dingley gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:
Does CO2 make pigeons incontinent, then?
To be fair to it, that picture looks like a gasless set running at too low a voltage, possible with gas wire (the wire is melting, but there's no penetration of the base metal). It's not quite the classic globular transfer.
bollox!
I've made yards of railings, ornate gates, and loads of old tractor,dumper/whatever repairs etc ALL with CO2....
Cheers Jim K
Jesus. And I thought *I* was a crap welder.
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